The Late Show
by Fayth in the Music
Summary: Ash doesn't realize that it's because of him that she went and followed her dream. AbilityShipping


"Ash!" Brock called out.

Ash Ketchum, seventeen, turned to face his companion, who had just entered the room. Ash couldn't help but groan. It had been a long day, they had been traveling in the dry heat from sunrise to dark, and just made it to the pokemon center. He wanted nothing more than to snuggle up in his bed, not wanting to be awake any longer.

"What?" he moaned. How was it possible that Brock had so much energy at that time. But he did seem urgent. Whatever it was, better have been important. Brock gave him a coy smile.

"Anabel's on TV!" He yelled. Ash's eyes widened. Anabel?

Perhaps staying up a little longer wouldn't hurt.

Marill to Midnight, was probably one of the most popular late-night shows ever. It was hosted by the comedian "Manual Marill, and his trusted Azumarill. It often got some of the biggest names in the battling word, contest world, not to mention great actors and comedians. He knew his mom loved the show. Truthfully, he didn't like it as much as other people. Manual Marill just annoyed him. Besides, he seemed a pit like a perv. But Brock loved the show, but Ash just figured that was because he got some of the hottest woman he could book.

He found the lounge room was packed with people, all eagerly watching the TV, listening to the host and Frontier Brain's every word.

He was actually amazed, when he saw Anabel. She actually looked like a girl. Her hair had grown slightly longer since the last time he'd seen her, as it now hung slightly past her chin. Also, she was wearing a very nice dress. It was black and had very short sleeves, and had a silver lining. She was also wearing a pair of purple fishnets, and a headband. He couldn't help but blush seeing her. She was very pretty.

She was grinning at something, although he didn't know what. He was guessing Marill had given her a compliment.

"_So, I have to say this,"_ Manual said, "_I recently found out that you actually do a little bit of acting."_

Anabel grinned, and nodded.

"_That would be correct,"_

The audience did a simultaneous "ooh", as did Ash. That was something he didn't know about her. Then again, he had only met the girl for a week. It wasn't as if they were best friends since birth. He was willing to bet, she probably didn't remember him. After all, she was a Frontier Brain, and probably battled many trainers. Although, he did hope that she remembered him. She was one of the favorite challenges she'd ever had.

"_But I mean, how do you get time to do acting, being a Frontier Brain?" _Manual asked. It was a good question; he was curious about it himself. He didn't think she would be able to leave her post that often.

"_Well, the thing is, The Battle Frontier isn't like the gym challenge," _she explained,_ "Unlike a pokemon gym, which gets many challengers a day, the Battle Frontier is something you have to get a invitation to go to. You have to have made a significant amount of accomplishments, beforehand. I usually only get about two challengers a month, and we occasionally appear on Battle Tonight, to fight Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, and so on. Because of that, I get a lot of free time."_

Ash couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the statement. He knew that the Frontier Brains were as strong as the Elite Four, but he didn't know they were that elite. And he beat them. Once more, he was offered to actually _be _one. Was he really that good?

"_So, that would make you a double threat," Manual praised, "Amazing battler, and an actress." He grinned, "So, what made you decide you wanted to be an actress on top of being a Frontier Brain?"_

Another good question. Ash remember that Anabel was so passionate about her pokemon. She never stuck him as somebody who would want to do anything else. It would be interesting to hear her response.

"_My mom was an actress,"_ she stated, "_When I was kid, she would always be in community theater shows, and she always stole the spotlight. Acting was pretty much her life, and my brothers and me all admired her."_

"_You're brother is William Fiedler, of the Elite Four, correct?" _Anabel grinned.

"_Yep."_

"_Now, he's been acting for a long time. He was more known as an actor, before he became a member of the Elite Four,"_

"_Yeah. He's been acting professionally for as long as he's been training pokemon."_

"_So, what took you so long to give it a shot?" _Anabel sighed at the question.

Ash was captivated by the conversation. He was learning so much about her. If he ever ran into her again, they would definitely have a lot to talk about.

"_Well, to be perfectly honest, I never thought I could," _she explained, "_As much as I really wanted to, I had been convinced earlier that I should put all my effort into pokemon. I was afraid that if I started acting, I wouldn't be able to spend time with my pokemon as they needed."_

"_So what convinced you otherwise?"_

A blush came across Anabel's face, and she bit her lower lip.

"_At the Battle Frontier, I had this one challenger," _she said, "_He was truly amazing. He was headstrong, rash, and quite frankly, clueless, and he thought I was a boy, although a lot of people did at that period in time."_

"_Sounds like he was a bit of an idiot."_

The audience laughed at the statement, as did the people in the room. Ash himself laughed. He wondered who the idiot was?

"Maybe it's you, Ash!" Brock said, teasingly. Ash smirked.

"Yeah right."

"_Quite the opposite, actually," Anabel stated, "He was sweet, kind, and he always thought about his pokemon first. When we first met, the two of us ran into some trouble, and he went to great lengths to keep me and his pokemon safe from harm." She started to blush, "He lost horribly our first battle, but that didn't stop him. He let his pokemon rest, and the next day, he came back and tried again. It was a great battle, and in the end, he beat me." She smiled, "It was the most thrilling battle I ever had."_

Ash couldn't figure out for the life of him, why Brock was smiling so devilishly, but he didn't pay too much attention to it. Whoever that trainer was, he'd like to battle him. He was sure it would be an interesting fight.

"_During the time we met, he showed me that with enough heart and determination, anything was possible. He was so passionate about his dream, I realized that there shouldn't be anything that should keep me from mine."_

"_Well, it's obviously paid off," _Manual stated,_ "I had director Laurence Luther here last week, and after the show, we were talking about his newest film. He told me that you would be part of the cast."_

Anabel grinned widely.

"_Yep."_

The entire crowed started to cheer wildly at the news, and there was a commotion of "oohs" and "aahs" around the room. Ash couldn't help but grin at that.

"That's great!" He said, smiling. She looked very happy when talking about the subject. Maybe, he would go on a computer later, and looked up that episode she had been in. He bet she was a awesome actress. She had to be. Why else would she get a part in a movie?

"_So, this trainer that inspired you," _Manual started_, "When Scott was here about a month ago, he told us that you had fallen head-over heals for a challenger. Is this him?"_

Anabel had a stunned look on her face, and was absolutely speechless at the statement. Her face turned bright red, and her eyes widened.

"…_Did he now?"_

"_That wasn't a 'no', now was it?"_

It was at that moment, Brock started laughing furiously next to him. He didn't know why.

In his mind, he was wondering who this challenger was. And for some reason, when he met him, he wanted to beat him as hard as he could in battle.

"I'm going to beat that trainer," Ash said aloud.

And for some reason, although he didn't know why, Brock was laughing even harder.

* * *

**So this is something I wrote a _long_ time ago, but decided not to post. Well, I read it over, and decided what the hey? Worst case scenario, it sucks, in which I can easily take it down. **

**Anyways. It's late, I'm tired. Reviews would be nice, but don't worry about it. If you review, you do, and if you don't, you don't. It's not like I'll die if you don't.**


End file.
